Head of the Office of the Independent Public Advocate

G7

Office of the Independent Public Advocate

The new Office of the Independent Public Advocate (IPA) is recruiting permanently for a Grade 7 Head of Secretariat.

Location:

We offer a hybrid working model, allowing balance between remote work and time spent at the IPA’s base location (10 South Colonnade). The postholder will also be expected to travel at short notice in the event of a major incident. This will include travel to the location of the incident which could be anywhere in England and Wales.

You will be expected to attend 10 South Colonnade 2 days a week. This hybrid working arrangement is not contractual and as a result staff could be asked to attend their base location more frequently.

Ways of Working

At the MoJ we believe and promote alternative ways of working, this role is available as:

• Full-time, part-time or the option to job share

• Flexible working patterns

• Flexible working arrangements between base locations, MoJ Hubs and home.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without a new competition.

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Salary

Existing Civil Servants will have their salary calculated in accordance with the Department’s pay on transfer / pay on promotion rules.

Security Clearance

This role requires National Security Vetting given the access to sensitive information afforded by the job role. You can find more information by reviewing the information held in the following links:

United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The vetting charter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In addition, there is a minimum UK residency requirement set by the Cabinet Office which is dependent on the security level required for the role.

This role requires Security Check (SC) clearance and to be eligible to apply for this role you should have been present in the UK continuously for the last 5 years.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

MoJ is the largest government department, employing over 90,000 people with a budget of approximately £10 billion. Each year, millions of people use our services across the UK - including at 500 courts and tribunals, and 133 prisons in England and Wales.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

The Work of the Independent Public Advocate

The Independent Public Advocate (IPA) is a new independent Statutory Office, established through the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, to support victims of major incidents in England and Wales.

The aftermath of a major incident can be extremely difficult for victims, both the bereaved and injured. During what is already a traumatic and difficult time, victims may have to take part in complex state processes such as inquests and inquiries and interact with multiple parties and public authorities. They may need extra support to navigate this period, to understand their role in the processes, and what support that can access and expect. The IPA will address this by signposting victims to support services and helping them better understand and participate in the processes that follow a major incident. The IPA will also be an important conduit between victims and public authorities.

The IPA will be headed by the Standing Advocate, and additional advocates may be appointed depending on the nature and scale of the incident. The Secretariat team will support the Advocate(s) in their vital work. Working within a small but agile team, you will report to the Standing Advocate and any additional advocates appointed in the aftermath of a disaster. You will also have line management responsibility for a Senior Executive Officer (SEO) communications specialist and a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) support officer.

The IPA has statutory duties and obligations. These will include:

• Providing practical support for victims, such as helping them to understand their rights and ensuring that they are aware of and have access to support services.  

• Producing reports which will be published and laid before Parliament.

• Advising the Government about the appropriate review mechanism following a major incident and what the scope should be.

A key part of your role as Head of Office will be to assist the Standing Advocate in discharging these duties and leading the Secretariat team to do so.

IPA Secretariat - Head of Office

Are you looking for a unique and meaningful role heading up a brand-new team? This is an exciting opportunity to be at the heart of a high-profile and sensitive area with significant Parliamentary and public interest, supporting bereaved families and those affected by major incidents.

In this role you’ll provide leadership and direction for the secretariat supporting the Standing Advocate of the IPA. We are looking for someone who is confident in setting up and leading a new team and has strong skills in oral and written briefing, finance, organisational leadership, and stakeholder management.

The IPA is a permanent office, but in the aftermath of a disaster, it may need to scale up quickly. You will help prepare for this, ensuring the right structures are in place to provide timely, meaningful support. This is a rare chance to shape a brand-new role, influence how the IPA operates, and contribute to an important objective.

As this is a new office, a large part of your role in the initial stages will be to shape how the secretariat will work, define what its core deliverables are, and establish how it will work with the Standing Advocate. As such some of the responsibilities set out below may change and evolve and will be shaped by you and the Standing Advocate. If you have the relevant experience as listed below and want to use your skills to make a real impact, we’d love to hear from you.

In business-as-usual periods (where the Secretary of State has not declared a major incident) some of the key responsibilities for this role will include:

• Leading and setting direction for a new team and Statutory Office, ensuring that it delivers the IPA’s objectives and purpose.

• Providing comprehensive support to the Standing Advocate, helping to influence and design the IPA’s priorities and strategic plans including preparing for major incidents.

• Building strong relationships with stakeholders, including government departments, public bodies, the emergency services, coroners, legal representatives and organisations representing the bereaved.

• Support the Standing Advocate to produce an annual report of the IPA’s activities for the Secretary of State for Justice, which may be published.

• Supporting the Communications Manager to create and implement the IPA’s communications strategy.

• Effective management of the office including budget and record keeping, and line management of two members of staff.

If the Secretary of State declares a major incident and the IPA is appointed, the role of the IPA then transitions into incident response. While the Standing Advocate will lead the response and set direction for how the IPA should discharge its functions, the postholder will have a significant leadership role to deliver the IPA’s objectives. This role will span from the immediate aftermath of an incident, all the way through the processes that follow such as inquests and inquiries. These responsibilities are likely to include:

• Leading the IPA’s response to an incident to deliver on the Standing Advocate’s objectives, setting direction for the team and empowering them to deliver.

• Giving robust and strategic advice to the Standing Advocate on priorities and approach.

• Building strong relationships with all the key parties in the process: victim support services, public authorities and central government.

• Delivering support for victims, and empowering the team to do the same, using a trauma-informed approach where possible. This will include direct contact with victims, managing the Standing Advocate’s engagement with them, and assisting them to access and understand information.

• Producing reports that are required from the IPA in relation to the incident, in collaboration with the Standing Advocate, for the Secretary of State for Justice which may be published.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• A strong leader with experience of building teams and capability

• Strong communication skills and the ability to communicate complex issues to a range of audiences, including seniors and non-specialists, with a proven ability to adapt communication style to your audience.

• Strong interpersonal, negotiation and stakeholder management skills, including high emotional intelligence and empathy and an ability to work in partnership with internal and external stakeholders

• The confidence and skills to act independently and proactively drive areas of work forward. 

Desirable:

• Experience of working with victims, particularly victims of major incidents, and of utilising the trauma informed approach

• Experience of providing excellent service in a public facing role

• An understanding major incident response and recovery processes

• An understanding of Coronial processes

• Understanding of the roles and functions of Ministers and how government works.

• Experience of working in or running a secretariat

Candidates applying from HMPPS should note that the Ministry of Justice does not have the same conditions of employment as HMPPS. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

The MoJ is proud to be Level 3 Disability Confident. Disability Confident is the approach through which we offer guaranteed interviews for all people with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the advertised role as set out in the job description.

Application process

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework.

You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, including your CV, statement of suitability and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Experience

You will be asked to provide a CV during the application process in order to assess any demonstrable experience, career history and achievements that are relevant to the role. Your CV should not be more than two pages long.

You will also be asked to upload a Statement of Suitability of no more than 750 words stating what you would bring to the role, with reference to the Skills and Experience listed above.

Behaviours

During the application process you will be asked to provide an example of how you have met the following behaviour (see Annex A for more information):

• Managing a Quality Service

Please also refer to the CS Behaviours framework for more details at this grade:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/717275/CS_Behaviours_2018.pdf

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the Statement of Suitability. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Candidates invited to Interview

Please note that interviews will be carried out remotely.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of, and strengths-based questions to also explore what you enjoy, and your motivations relevant to the job role.

The behaviours that will be assessed at interview are:

• Managing a Quality Service

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

• Leadership (will be assess through the presentation)

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

You can refer to the CS Strengths dictionary for more details: Success Profiles - Civil Service Strengths Dictionary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

If you are selected for interview, you will be required to produce a short presentation, we’ll use the presentation to assess the leadership behaviour

An optional fireside chat with the Standing Advocate will be offered for all candidates following the interview as an opportunity for you to find out more about the role. This chat is not a formal part of the application process and will not inform the outcome of the interviews.

Interviews are expected to take place May 2025.

Contact information  

Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the role Lily.Smart@justice.gov.uk

Annex A - The STAR method

Using the STAR method can help you give examples of relevant experience that you have. It allows you to set the scene, show what you did, and how you did it, and explain the overall outcome.

Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in. You must describe a specific event or situation. Be sure to give enough detail for the job holder to understand.

• Where are you?

• Who was there with you?

• What had happened?

Task - The job holder will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation you found yourself in.

• What was the task that you had to complete and why?

• What did you have to achieve?

Actions - What did you do? The job holder will be looking for information on what you did, how you did it and why. Keep the focus on you. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution? Remember to include how you did it, and the behaviours you used. Try to use “I" rather than “we" to explain your actions that lead to the result. Be careful not to take credit for something that you did not do.

Results - Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour. Quote specific facts and figures. Explain how the outcome benefitted the organisation or your area. Make the outcomes easily understandable.

• What results did the actions produce?

• What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your goals?

• Was it a successful outcome? If not, what did you learn from the experience?

Keep the situation and task parts brief. Concentrate on the action and the result. If the result was not entirely successful describe what you learned from this and what you would do differently next time. Make sure you focus on your strengths.